sectional layout help

heleneo1974

8 years ago

I need help deciding whether I should buy a RAF sectional or LAF sectional. I am thinking three seats should face fireplace and two seats should face window. Thoughts? Any rules for where the longer part of the sectional should face? It’s a big open room so I am using sectional to bring the space together.

Featured Answer

lascatx

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I've only had a sectional in a room that pretty much dictates not only a sectional but also the direction. Most rooms where I would use a sectional seem either fairly equal or like they dictate the placement. If your room can take the longer length in either direction, have you looked at how it impacts other furniture placement and paths around the furniture? Does one placement suggest a chair where one would not? Then consider how often you use your fireplace, the views out the windows.

All things being equal, I would probably have the long side face the fireplace, but hopefully not blocking or preventing a view out the windows.

And I am sorry that you found it so difficult to get an answer to your question. I cannot tell you how many hours (days, weeks, months) I have spent searching for furniture for my family room -- twice now (15 years in this house). In order to have seating that fits us and the room, our home and our lifestyle, it had to be a sectional (and a very difficult size at that -- which is part of why I tried everything else). The last thing I would want to hear is a bunch of folks who have never seen my room or looked at the options or reasons for my choice trying to talk me out of it. No one is asking them to pay for it or to use it. So many one size fits all types here. At six feet tall and with friends a foot or more shorter, I have never understood how one size is supposed to fit all. Not well, anyway. Do it well.

Arcy -- I'd be limited to floor cushions! LOL

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Comments (12)

Elle
8 years ago
Posting a layout or photo of the space would be helpful.
suezbell
8 years ago
Neither. Please reconsider choosing a sectional because any of them will drastically limit the placement of your furnishings and no one really likes sitting for an extended period of time without arm rests.

Also, The backs of most sectionals are too high -- above a window sill height -- and putting them in under -- front of -- windows detracts from the windows and makes the sofa look as if it doesn't fit in the room - even if it otherwise does, notwithstanding that having a sectional usually means putting at least part of it under -- in front of -- a window.
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Mrs. S
8 years ago
Well, I like sitting without armrests, because I prop some pillows up and stretch out my legs with a dog on either side. It’s very deep, and super comfortable for napping. Our has 3 sides. Also, our sectional has a low back, because we ordered it that way. It allows the room to feel more open.

I do agree that they limit placement of furniture, so measure and choose your sectional layout carefully.
arcy_gw
8 years ago
If seating cannot rise above a window sill--then we are all condemned to benches!! LOL
heleneo1974
Original Author
8 years ago
just to clarify, i am not putting the sectional under the window. Part of the sectional will face the window and the other piece will face the fireplace
heleneo1974
Original Author
8 years ago
just trying to understand if the longer part of the sectional should face the window or the fireplace
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
8 years ago
So IMO a sofa a nd 2 chairs are just a better investment and sectionals with chaises are just a waste of seating , if you must get one forget the chaise and add an ottoman and to be honest we need to see the space
heleneo1974
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks
Alysia Kole
8 years ago
Three seats facing the fireplace sounds cozy.
Olychick
8 years ago
I love my sectional and the lack of arms taking up room like a sofa and chair would gives me much more space. My friends love being able to stretch out while we're visiting and there's still room for a couple of other people to sit (we're a casual crowd). It really mystifies me why the anti-sectional feelings are so strong because they can be a wonderful solution.

Without pics it's really hard to know which way to recommend placement. For me it would depend on what you see out the windows, what your climate is (how often will you have a cozy fire?) and other variables. I'd much rather look out windows than an unlit fireplace most of the time, but a night, unless you have a lit view outside, then I'd want to look at the fireplace and not a wall of dark windows or closed draperies.
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8 years ago
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